Catching up

 I got  Polar GPS and raced a 5k race on Sunday (yesterday). It did not go as planned. Not because of the watch, I think the watch helped because it let me know when each km was as the course was not marked. I am posting my workouts on strava as its easier now that I  only have to upload the activity. Basically I got out well for the first 2-3k and then bonk in the last 2kms. I did just under 25 mins I think. Splits as per the watch are: 4:43, 4:44, 4:55, 5:17, 5:07. The first 2 kms were downhill, last 2 were uphill. Anyway, I dont know whats happening, on May and June I ran 5 races and all were in the range of 22:42 and 23:05 because there were different courses. Almost 2 mins faster than now and training one day less per week.

I have come to the conclusion that I run well off 5 days per week of running, instead of 6 runs. It seems that with 6 runs, i dont asimilate the training well, whereas with 5 days of running per week I trained hard but at the same time was fresh and looking forward to my workouts. 

I have decided that for a while I will get back to 5 runs per week and see if that makes a different, as 25:00 for 5k is just too slow (in my case) given that I did 22 a few months ago and my training has not changed much, nor I took months off running, just a couple of weeks due to sickness/ injury. I dont understand.

Today I did 10.56 kms and worked my pace down to 5:55 pretty easy, and in the race I reached 5:17 huffing and puffing, i dont know the reason. Ok, no more complains, back to 5 runs per week and see what happends, the structure will be the same, 2 workouts per week, 1 long run and 2 easy runs. From time to time, will push the long run a little and want to run more than 2 hours. Taking advantage of the cold weather to run long. 

Evening easy recovery run

 Today I ran at 6:30 p.m. in the blasco park very easy to recovery. Felt pretty good today despite the right leg bothered me for the first 200m or so, then it went pretty well. Decided no to look at the watch and just ran easy. Finished the 7.5k total in 47:25. I wore my windbreaker today and I felt pretty good, not cold, not hot. 

Today I finally after a lot of time my brother suggesting me, I ordered a GPS watch for the first time. In my 19 years of running, I have never worn a GPS watch, and on Saturday I will wear one for the first time. I love the simplicity of running and even race my races watchless. However, in the past year I have not improved the way I wanted despite training hard and only resting when I had COVID 19. A watch wont make me run faster, but maybe will allow to analize my training ( DATA)  better, we will see. Maybe I will get tired of it pretty quicky and go back to my 10 EUR basic watch. 

I am even considering racing with the GPS on Sunday 5k race. I wont look at it though, so its the same as running without, but I will be able to see my splits post race and not eating my head wondering is the distance is accurate or not. 

When you are not running in a certified course, it can get really frustrating, you dont know if you ran 4.9k, or 5.1k, or 5.04k or whatever. The GPS is not 100% accurate, but gives a pretty good idea. Also it gets frustrating when you are racing watchless and there are no km markers on the course, you pretty much are running blind, or sometimes there are markers, but you are running with so many people that you miss them.

And last, but no least, here in Valencia you pretty much run in mass races, where you are not really racing, you have so many people next to you, that you cannot focus on one person, or another, its difficult to explain. But head to head competition here is very difficult, unless  its a little race like the run for the oceans that I was battling head to head with a guy in the last km. But other than that, you pretty much are in a parade, and you have to run your own race, because if you compete with other, you dont know if that person went out 30 seconds behind you, or 20 seconds ahead. 

The idea is not to look at the watch, but if for whatever reason I want to look at it, at least I have the option. 

Also with a GPS watch it will be much easier to upload the data on strava. 

Decent evening interval workout: 5 x 1000m

 Today I went to the Turia park at 06:40 p.m. already dark with my brother. We were doing completely different workouts though, but did the warm up together and the cool down. The plan for me was to do 5 x 1000m with 400m jog rest. I had more than a year that I did not do 5  x 1000m as we always do 4 x 1k, but if we want to move the needle we have to push ourselves and its time to to increase to 5 x 1000m. To be honest this workout went much better than expected. I thought that with the disaster that I did on Sunday, 4:45-4:50 would be a real struggle today, but I did much better than expected. Not my usual splits, but not too far either, and I did 1 repeat more than usual, which hurts a lot more. 

I warmed up 16 mins easy and then did some leg swings, and then did 4 x 100m strides at the pace that I wanted to run the workout, splits were 27, 26, 27, 27 and felt easy and controlled. 

Then started the workout. Splits were: 4:36, 4:38, 4:28, 4:31, 4:24. First 2.5 repeats were with  a head wing. 3rd repeat was out and back. Very happy and satisfied with the workout, these splits dont reflect at all my performance on Sunday. I signed up for a 5k on Sunday in a county, I should run better than on Sunday, but given that is not a certified course, I cannot trust the distance, but all in all this workout tells me that I am in much better shape than I showed on Sunday.

Today I wore my windbreaker for the first time. The weather was in 14 degrees, but it was at night with a bit of wind. If I had worn short sleeves, I would not warmed up at all. I think that affected me in the race. After our warm up, we lasted in the starting area for 30 mins and we lose our heat in that waiting. when the gun goes off, you basically are huffing and puffing cold. Another thing, is that I did not do strides and I think that affected me as well. 

From now on, I will incorporate strides at the pace I want to run the race/ workout. That worked pretty well today. 

My brother did pretty well in his 4 x 1 mile with 1 min rest at 10k race pace. He did better than race pace and felt pretty good. 

He is training for a marathon in February and I am his coach. Lets see if I can make him run sub 4 hours. 

16:22 easy cool down to home. Around  10k for the day. I was afraid to wear my wind breaker at the beginning, because I thought that I would fry myself once I warmed up, but that was not the case, I did just fine with the windbreaker and never felt hot, quiet the opposite, I thik that I still ran cold.

I always say that this weatther only helps on long runs and race over 10k. For races under 5k and under , cold can be an hindrance especially for us slow runners that cannot enter the corral within 5 mins before starting the race.

No more complaining, in my book I ran a good workout. 

Evening easy run with 6 strides

Today I headed out at 06:45 p.m. to run to the blasco park. I waited so long, because I was still full from my lunch, which was delicious. Chinese food. Felt pretty good today on my run. The weather was cold, so I felt the cold in the first 5-10 mins, but then felt just fine. Everyone was covered head to toe, but there I was in shorts and short sleeve t shirt. I did 8 laps easy and in the laps 6 to 8 I incorporated 6 strides at a controlled pace. Testing the leg more than anything. Did not look at the watch today and kept the effort easy. The leg did not bother except in the first stride. After the first one, it kind of loosen up and I felt pretty good. 

45:09 total for the 8 laps including 6 strides. Felt fine.

Tomorrow interval work. 

Afternoon run

 As I said yesterday, I am off from work until December, so at  4 p.m. very cloudy, windy, almost raining, the forecast showed 80+ % of rain, I did not want the rain affected the run, luckily it did not rain. Today I just ran easy to recover. Felt better than expected. Thought that I would struggle, but I felt pretty good and although sore, felt somewhat fresh. Kept the effort easy. Went to the blasco park from my home and did 8 laps in 46:33, very confortable. Last couple of laps were in 5:30 per lap. It only shows that easy runs does not have to do at all with your real fitness. I am feeling pretty good in easy runs and the pace is the same (or faster) as when I am in good shape, but in workouts and races I am light years back. Its time to get consistent again, the leg did not bother at the beginning given the cold, which was good, but it bothered me at times in the middle of the run. I could run through it.

7.5k total. Tomorrow I will get in a few strides. 

Awful race but sometimes you win and sometimes you lose

 I could not run Friday and Saturday, because on Friday when it was time to run, it started raining pretty hard so I could not run. Yesterday the whole day raining.

Today was race day, it was a "5.55k race" called volta a peu de les falles which is held in the centro of the city and I had not done that race before and I wanted to do it for fun. My last 5 weeks of training has been very poor with my right leg problem and the inconsistency of the last 3 weeks showed up today. I thought that the Thursdy fartlek was an indication that I did not lose all that fitness, but today´s race suggest quiet the opposite. Did not have it today. The good news is that my brother did decent and that gives him confidence in his training for the marathon which he will run on February.

I warmed up 1k walking to my brother´s house then he gave me my bib which was 666 btw.Then we warmed up to the race. I warmed up 18 mins something and he completed the 20 mins. I did not do strides, just some legs lifts in the starting area. We waited around 20-25 mns in the starting area, which seemed like forever and with the temps in the 12 celsius or so, you get cold pretty quickly, but if you dont get on time on the corrals you are far behind and then its impossible to run your pace, thats one of the cons of being slow, you cannot warm up closer to the starting time. 

The gun went off and I went out what seemed confortable, but then realized it was too fast and after the 800m or so people were passing me left and right, and in the 2.5k mark I was out of the race mentally, I just was in survive mode and wanted it to get done, my brother passed me just before the 3k mark, he passed me at a speed that it seemed that I was walking and he was running, I knew right there that he would defeat me today. First time in 7 years. After that dozens and dozens  of people passed me and I could do nothing about it, after the 4k mark I ran easy for around 100m just to finish easy, but then decided that I would push some more and increased effort again. That did not avoid that people passed me.

The best part of my race was when a kid flew by me in the final 800m and then suddenly he stops around 10-20m ahead, as I was passing him I gave him a pat in the back and told him to come on, only 800m to go, then another man encouraged him as well and he said thanks to us and started like a bat again and dissapeared again ahead. I feel good because we encouraged him to keep going and not surrender to the pain, it worked. When I saw the finish line video he built a gap of almost 30 seconds in around 600-700m. In the final stretch, I move the legs as fast as I can and then turn right to the last 100m and pushed hard to finish fast, but did not have the sprint that I usually have. Finished in 28:02. My brother´s GPS read 5.66k, so I think I did it in 4:58 per km or something like that. I felt awful and I think this is my worst race in around 4 years, but it is what it is, I started out too fast given my current fitness level and I payed the price. I think that I will get back to normal once my training starts being consistent again. I basically ran the same pace for 3.4k more and feeling much better 6 weeks ago. Also I dont like the cold weather in short distance, you never seem to warm up and when you warm up, given that you have to enter the starting are early, you kind of get cold again. Well, no excuses, but it was terrible. I am trying to find true reasons for the bad performance, but I cannot find a strong reason. My brother finished in 27:12, 4.49 per km. When he passed me he was doing that km in 4:35, I probably did it in 5:10, his speed was very superior in that very moment, 

After the race, we talked for about 10-15 mins and then started our cool down to home. I did 17 mins easy running and 1k walking and called it a day. Around 10 k for the day. 

3 runs for the week. 

I have been with a strong headache the whole day, my worst post race headache as well with my worst race in a while. At least this day is finishing and from tomorrow on and until December 7th I am free from work, yea on vacations so I could dedicate my mind and body to train a bit, or should I hang them up for good and let talented people run?

Have a great Sunday everyone!

Farlek night workout

 Yesterday was a day off. I said that I was going to run in the morning, but I did not. In the morning my leg bothers me a little and an extra day wont certainly hurt the leg. In the evening I was in the movies and I could not run. I must admit that I have been pretty lazy to run in the morning given that its the coldest of the day at tht time.

Today I ran after work at 7:15 p.m. but already dark. Today I had planned a fartlek workout, but not too hard, just 6-8 x 1 mins repeats with 1 mins easy running in between. I want to play it safe because of the race that I have on Sunday and because of the right leg. 

I warmed up 15 mins easy ( did not do strides) ad move my legs back and forth to loosen up and waited around 2 mins before starting the fartlek. I did 8 x 1 mins fast and 1 mins easy in between. I stopped the watch at 15 mins and was huffing and puffing, but felt really strong and good. The leg behave, but it was bothering me a bit. I did a bit more than 3 laps and averaged sub 5 mins per km including the recovery, so better than expected really. Stayed hungry for more, but given that the race is close and have to take care of the leg I called it a day at 8 repeats. Then did 3 laps cool down in 16:56 ( 5:50,5:37,5:29). Felt pretty good and strong. I hope to feel like that on Sunday, but I have to admit that I am a bit overweight and not sharp enough to run sub or close to 23 mins in the 5k like in May / June. 

Good workout and good evening for running. Shorts and short sleeve. By now dont need to wear more than that, but on Sunday as the race is early in the morning, I probably will wear a long sleeve shirt, although not sure. 

Have a great Thursday!

Easy night run

 Yesterday was a day off. I ate fried chicken instead.

Today I ran with my homemate. We went to the blasco park at 7:20 p.m. but at that time is already pretty dark at this time of year. We did 8 laps in the blasco park at a good clip. I ran watchless today as I wanted to keep the effort easy. I wore short sleeves, but it was cold. No wind though, so I was fine. 7.5k total feeling pretty good. The leg bothered me as usual in the beginning, then I can run just fine, but I feel it bothers me though. In the last 1.5 lap Miguel built a 100m gap until the end. I just decided that I would not try to match his move. Around 45-46 mins according to Miguel´s watch.

Tomorrow morning I will do a fartlek workout as I am going to the movies at night. 

Afternoon steady state run

 Today at 5:10 p.m. I headed out to the Blasco park to do my old 8 laps, starting from home of course. This was supposed to be an easy run, but I felt good after 10 mins so decided to make it a progressive run. I felt good and controlled, but in the last lap I was hufing and puffing and felt like I never warmed up, in fact at the end my ears were bothering me a bit, because of the cold wind. I ran in short sleeves, because for 16 celisus, you dont even need wind breaker. Splits per lap were: 5:33, 5:13, 5:00, 4:56 4:51,4:51, 4:25. Felt controlled until the last lap, then the effort was big. Finished in 42:11, so 4+ mins faster than yesterday. This was not an easy run, but it was not a hard run either, something in between. Thats why I titled this entry " steady state". I must admit that that slow pace of 5:20 per km neuromusculary feels fast, I am getting old quickly. 

The right leg was bothering me in the first lap, but then felt ok, did not bother me much durin the faster part, so that its good news. 

3 runs for the week. The last 3 days of the week, but this is the beginning of a hard training cycle. Back to 6 runs per week. 

Nice weather today, but on weekends its much better to run in the morning, when you run in the evening, you pretty much have that pending the whole day. Time to switch back to weekend morning runs, next week. 

Afternoon easy run

 Today the right leg was bothering a bit in the morning. I did not have plans in the evening so I ran in the afternoon. I ran at 5:30 p.m. in the blasco park. The goal today was to run my normal run which is 45+ mins and not stuck in the 32-35 mins for 1-2 weeks, thats what I did after I was recovering from COVID on August, but now I feel pretty good, so its best to get back to my normal runs right away. I will have to be careful on workouts. Did 46:16 for 8 laps in the blasco park, my 7.5k route. Mentally it was long, but I felt pretty good on the body. The weather helped a ton, I barely broke a sweat. The last 2-3 laps were already dark and basically I was alone in the park exercising. Again wore shorts and short sleeve. I dont know how exercisers can wear long sleeves on 17-18 celsius.  The righ let bothering me at the beginning, but then it felt pretty good, I barely felt it after the half. A good sign. 

Felt good. I hope to get back into the swing of swings quickly.

Back to training after 9 days off

 Today I finally was back to training after 9 days off. It was a mix of lazyness and wanting to heal from the ciatica pain. Today enough was enough and after work at 07:15 a.m. already dark, I headed out to the blasco park and did 35:25 total time. The pace was the same as always and I felt pretty good, the lost in fitness did not show. However, its on workouts that you realize how much fitness you have lost. The pain in my hamstring went away, but my pain in the ciatica has not. Its clear that rest its not the answer. I could run through it, but it was there. I will keep running through it though. Besides that issue, I felt great and weather helped a ton. Running in short sleeves, it would be too hot to run with a windbreaker. All in all a good run and if the injury behaves, I will probably do a race next Sunday of 6+k. Its a race within the circuit of Valencia that I have not run and its in the center of Valencia, in the metropolitan area. I ran a portion of it in the 15k night race, but in the next race, I would run during the day.

I have been eating like a pig so I have put on weight. Its nice to get back to running, because I was moving towards the dark path, I would be lost without running. I would be obese. I eat too much.

 I got to get back to 73 mins in 15k race like in 2019. I will try to run sub 1:15 on February 15k Abierta al mar. This year its in 2 days, but given the circunstances I wont do it this year, I hope that next year they follow their normal schedule and is held in February hopefully. Lets see how it goes, but I wont let that all my fitness gained this year go to waste.

Have a great Friday!

Catching up

 A lot of time without posting. I was in my country from October 16 until November 2nd and I did train there. I have to say that the heat there is nothing compared with the temperature here in Spain. However, once you get used to the heat, you run pretty good and feel good. When I came back here in Spain the weather was below 15 degrees and it was somewhat unconfortable, once you get used to the caribbean. Of course you run better in cold weather than in hot weather. I wanted to do a tempo run there or an interval workout at the same times that I do here in spain, but its a pending homework. 

I ran 6 times on the first week, it was an adaptation week,but by the end of the week I was already used to the heat, but the first few days I was dead and on easy runs and was huffing and puffing.

All my easy runs were 60 mins in duration and the last kms were sub 6 mins per km. I did 2 workouts in the first week: 1 day I did 3k warm up easy in 19:58 ( no strides) to the mirador then did 1x 1600 and then 5 x 400m, 7:17, 1:35, 1:49, 1:47,1:44, 1:41 and 3k warm down in 20:15. I was dead and soaked wet after this workout, as you can see the 400s were way slower than I am used to in Valencia. However, that day was only our 3rd day there and I was not adapted. I ran 20 seconds faster than my brother in the mile, but he defeated in the 400s.

The second workout was on Friday in the mirador as well, did 3k warm up in 19:58 again (no strides), then did 5k tempo run in 25:21, 4:53 first km , half in 12:29,but ran a positive split. I felt good, but did not have another gear, and i was still adapting to the heat. My brother did 25:49, but after the 500m I was alone.

On Saturday, I did 1 hour easy in the conservatory incorporating 6 strides in the last lap, but in the afternoon I was sit and when I woke up I started to limp because of a Ciatica problem in my right leg, that was the reason that I could not do any sustancial workout after that. All my runs after that were limping in the first 5 mins.

On Sunday did 60 mins again, 6 runs for that week and 2 workouts.

Next week did 5 runs, 3 runs of 60 mins in the conservatory ,one run of 40mins ( this was the last run in the Dominican Republic and cut the run short because my ciatica was bothering me a lot) and did a marathon pace run on Friday also in the conservatory, did 15 mins easy to warm up (  no strides), then did 6 laps at marathon pace, goal was 33:00,but did 31:38 with splits of 5:20,5:27, 5:16, 5:16,5:14,  5:05. I am in good shape and this did not take out a lot from me specially in the heat, did 15 mins to cool down. Did around 11k for the day. 

After that last run of 40 mins I did not run until Wednesday to give my leg a break, next run was last Wednesday 3/11 and was the same day I arrive Valencia.  In the evening at 5:45 a.m. , Did 44:44 for my usual route in the Blasco park, Started full because I ate lunch late, but in the last 2 laps did 5:00 and  4:53, so finished feeling good. The leg behave well, but the next day was bothering me and I have not run since then. Its getting dark at 5:50 p.m. so all runs will be run in the dark ( except on weekends).

Today I will get back to it, walking, the leg is not bothering me much although I feel something, lets see how it behave during my run this evening

It was good to see my father and my family again, nothing like home. Both Synday´s run my father ran with us.He still can keep a 6 min pace per km, but he is out of shape, because he is not training often. 

Looking to get back to my home next year again and not injure myself. Glad that I could run consistently and the injury came at the end.